Somebody talked! The Walls Have Ears

A tanker burns on a dark sea under a billowing black cloud, with the words 'Somebody talked!' slanting across the smoke and 'THE WALLS HAVE EARS' below. The burning ship stages the harm as already done (fear-appeal), and the slogan names loose talk as its cause without giving evidence of any particular case.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Fear appeal

Date

1942

Period

Second World War

Made by

Wartime Information Board, Ottawa; design courtesy Walls Have Ears Organization

Region

North America

Country

Canada

Medium

Poster

Issuer type

State

Regime

Mackenzie King Government

Leader

William Lyon Mackenzie King

Audience

Domestic public

Purpose

Warn or inform

Themes

Security and surveillance, War and the military

Event

World War II

Source

Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are

Source

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026

Rights

Public domain (Canadian Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired; no URAA restoration)
Wartime Information Board (Canada); design courtesy of the 'Walls Have Ears' Organization. U.S. National Archives, World War II Foreign Posters (NAID 44267841).

Somebody talked !
THE WALLS HAVE EARS
ISSUED BY WARTIME INFORMATION BOARD, OTTAWA    Printed in Canada    DESIGN, COURTESY OF “WALLS HAVE EARS” ORGANIZATION    AG-20